Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Size of the lower carnassial in the arctic and the red fox from Late Pleistocene in Belgium compared to other ancient and extant populations
- Lengths, widths, and size proportions (length to width) of the lower carnassial were measured in 45 teeth of the arctic fox and 35 teeth of the red fox from Belgium radiocarbon dated to 46 640–14 120 ka BP. Data the Late Pleistocene foxes from Belgium were compared to 20 ancient and extant populations form Europe, Asia, and North America. The Pleistocene arctic fox from Belgium showed larger carnassial than in all recent samples of this species, whereas the Belgian fossil red foxes were characterized by the carnassial size comparable to that of the recent Siberian red foxes. Both fox species from the Pleistocene of Belgium showed the highest index of the carnassials length to width, which means increase in carnivorous adaptation. We conclude that the higher level of carnivorous specialization reached by the Belgian arctic and red foxes at the end of the Late Pleistocene reflected their scavenging on kills of large carnivores and human hunters (remains of megafauna). Harsh environmental conditions of that period and specific composition of ecosystems led to adapting to a more carnivorous food niche in both foxes.
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Were ancient foxes far more carnivorous than recent ones? Carnassial morphological evidence
- Crown shape variation of the first lower molar in the arctic (Vulpes lagopus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was analyzed using five groups of morphotypes. Carnassial morphologies were compared between the species and between spatially and temporally distant populations: one Late Pleistocene (n = 45) and seven modern populations of the arctic fox (n = 259), and one Late Pleistocene (n = 35) and eight modern populations of the red fox (n = 606). The dentition of Holocene red foxes had larger morphotype variability than that of arctic foxes. The lower carnassials of the red fox kept have some primitive characters (additional cusps and stylids, complex shape of transverse cristid), whereas the first lower molars of the arctic fox have undergone crown shape simplification, with the occlusal part of the tooth undergoing a more pronounced adaptation to a more carnivorous diet. From the Late Pleistocene of Belgium to the present days, the arctic fox’s crown shape has been simplified and some primitive characters have disappeared. In the red fox chronological changes in the morphology of the lower carnassials were not clearly identified. The phyletic tree based on morphotype carnassial characteristics indicated the distinctiveness of both foxes: in the arctic fox line, the ancient population from Belgium and recent Greenland made separate branches, whereas in the red foxes the ancient population from Belgium was most similar to modern red foxes from Belgium and Italy.
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New synonymy and new records in the stick insect genus Medauromorpha Bresseel & Constant, 2017 (Phasmida, Phasmatidae, Clitumninae)
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Pollen-derived biomes in the Eastern Mediterranean–Black Sea–Caspian-Corridor
- Aim To evaluate the biomization technique for reconstructing past vegetation in the Eastern Mediterranean–Black Sea–Caspian-Corridor using an extensive modern pollen data set and comparing reconstructions to potential vegetation and observed land cover data. Location The region between 28–48°N and 22–62°E. Methods We apply the biomization technique to 1,387 modern pollen samples, representing 1,107 entities, to reconstruct the distribution of 13 broad vegetation categories (biomes). We assess the results using estimates of potential natural vegetation from the European Vegetation Map and the Physico-Geographic Atlas of the World. We test whether anthropogenic disturbance affects reconstruction quality using land use information from the Global Land Cover data set. Results The biomization scheme successfully predicts the broadscale patterns of vegetation across the region, including changes with elevation. The technique discriminates deserts from shrublands, the prevalence of woodlands in moister lowland sites, and the presence of temperate and mixed forests at higher elevations. Quantitative assessment of the reconstructions is less satisfactory: the biome is predicted correctly at 44% of the sites in Europe and 33% of the sites overall. The low success rate is not a reflection of anthropogenic impacts: only 33% of the samples are correctly assigned after the removal of sites in anthropogenically altered environments. Open vegetation is less successfully predicted (33%) than forest types (73%), reflecting the under-representation of herbaceous taxa in pollen assemblages and the impact of long-distance pollen transport into open environments. Samples from small basins (<1 km2) are more likely to be reconstructed accurately, with 58% of the sites in Europe and 66% of all sites correctly predicted, probably because they sample an appropriate pollen source area to reflect regional vegetation patterns in relatively heterogeneous landscapes. While methodological biases exist, the low confidence of the quantitative comparisons should not be over-emphasized because the target maps themselves are not accurate representations of vegetation patterns in this region. Main Conclusions The biomization scheme yields reasonable reconstructions of the broadscale vegetation patterns in the Eastern Mediterranean–Black Sea–Caspian-Corridor, particularly if appropriate-sized sampling sites are used. Our results indicate biomization could be used to reconstruct changing patterns of vegetation in response to past climate changes in this region.
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Osteology and relationships of Brauccipycnodus pillae gen. nov. from the Albian (Lower Cretaceous) of Pietraroja (Campania, southern Italy)
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Osteology and phylogenetic relationships of Agoultpycnodus aldrovandii gen. and sp. nov., a new pycnodont fish genus (Pycnodontidae) from the marine Late Cretaceous of Morocco.
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Sexual dimorphism in a population of +Pycnodontiformes of the Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) from Profeti (Province of Caserta, Southern Apennines, Italy)
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The Cretaceous fishes of Nardò. 41°. New data on the teleosts Capassoichthys alfonsoi (Ichthyodectidae) and Chanoides chardoni (Ostariophysi, Otophysi).
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Les poissons du Santonien (Crétacé supérieur) d’Apricena (Italie du Sud). 9°. Garganomyctophum sorbinii gen. et sp. nov. (Teleostei, Myctophiformes, Myctophidae)
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The Pantodontidae (Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha) from the marine Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Lebanon. 1°. Pankowskipiscis haqelensis gen. and sp. nov.
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The Pantodontidae (Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha) from the marine Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Lebanon. 2°. Petersichthys libanicus gen. and sp. nov.
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The Pantodontidae (Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha) from the marine enomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Lebanon. 3°. Palaeopantodon vandersypeni gen. and sp. nov.
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Anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Temnodontosaurus zetlandicus (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria)
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1001 décisions, gouvernance et gestion - 1001 besslissingen, beleid en politiek
- Série de 10 vidéos des ministres publiées sur le channel Youtube "1001 for Biodiversity". Messages vidéos des ministres responsables de la biodiversité en Belgique à l'occasion de l'anniversaire des 20 ans de la ratification de la Convention sur la Diversité Biologique (CBD) par la Belgique et de la conférence 1001 décisions organisée le 20 mai 2016 à l'IRSNB par le Point focal national CDB. Chaque ministre livre un message sur sa politique en matière de biodiversité et un second message sur les actions qu'il met en oeuvre personnellement à l'inspiration du livret "366 gestes pour la biodiversité" publié par l'Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique.
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Biodiversity 2020 – Update of Belgium’s National Biodiversity Strategy
- "Biodiversity 2020, Update of Belgium's National Strategy (NBS)" has been developed as a direct response to Article 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It was adopted on 13 November 2013 by the Interministerial Conference for the Environment, which is composed of the competent ministers of the Federal Government and the three Regions of Belgium (Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia). The Strategy spells out a range of priority objectives to anticipate, prevent and reduce the causes of biodiversity loss in Belgium. It is the unique national document on biodiversity that is applicable both at the federal and regional levels in order to comply with the European and international commitments made by Belgium. It offers a framework for the policy to follow and for the subsequent implementing actions to be developed.
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Late is not too late: redescriptions of some Carboniferous insects from Western Europe studied by Daniel Laurentiaux (Palaeodictyoptera, Paoliida)
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Revised lithostratigraphic scale of the Devonian of Belgium: An introduction and an homage to Pierre Bultynck
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Lower Devonian lithostratigraphy of Belgium
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Middle Devonian lithostratigraphy of Belgium
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Upper Devonian lithostratigraphy of Belgium
